Monster Musume: A Griffon Tale
by Mangy-Mutt-Studios
Summary: My name is Ares Argestes. I am a rare non-human species commonly known as a Griffon. This is my story.
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE**

It has been around four months since the Interspecies Exchange Bill was passed...four long, excruciating, painful months. The reason for those thoughts may have seemed silly, if not childish to most. However, most people or even some other non-human species were not in the same boat as I was.

You see, some non-humans are very wanted by humans. Species like Harpies, Centaurs, various types of Cat and Dog species, and even things like Mermaids were very common to see out in the public now, easily maintaining daily lives amongst humans. However I wasn't one of those lucky ones that were quickly chosen for Home Stays. In fact, I was almost to the point where I thought I would never be picked for a Home Stay...I didn't even have a coordinator yet. There was an obvious reason, and it was even more obvious that it had to do with my species.

I was a Griffon.

Griffon's are very rare, even in non-human standards. We were also one of the few non-human species to have both males and females amongst us. We were large, having bodies that could reach anywhere from six feet to eight feet tall. A common human description of Griffons was that we were like Dragonewts if they had feathers instead of scales. I couldn't exactly argue with that though, as it was fairly true. Griffons indeed had wings very similar to a Dragonewt when it came to there structure and placement, however Griffon wings were slightly larger in wingspan and even gave Griffons the ability to fly for short periods of time. There was also the highly distinct arms of the Griffon Species, which followed the same concept of a Harpies bird-like legs when it came to the material they were made of and how they looked. They primarily cover the entire arm, starting a few inches up from the elbow and continuing to cover all the way to the tips of the fingers. They even had the same distinct yellow color that most bird related non-humans had. We even had very similar talons to the Harpy species, as they were razor sharp at all times, and able to cut through most soft materials and even some soft metals. However these claws were considered more of a burden in modern times, as they were originally used for combat purposes back in the days of old. Nowadays all Griffons are required to wear specially made leather gauntlets and gloves to keep us from damaging public property. The only other external animal-like feature that Griffon's had was the tail. A griffon tail was exactly the same as a Lions, just slightly longer. The tuft of fur on the end of a Griffon's tail almost always matched the Griffon's hair and feather color, which would usually consist of browns or blacks.

However these things weren't the primary reason of why most humans didn't want to allow Griffon's to stay with them...however I can say that they didn't exactly help. Instead the main reasons that most people didn't want Griffons was because of our violent nature that most of us had...key word: Most. It may have been true that all griffons were strictly carnivores, or that we all had very strong defensive and protective instincts. It was also true that we all had a temper of sorts. All that said, the labeling of violent was mostly false. Griffons have come a long way since our species' past. We tried to suppress our violent ways in any way possible, and it worked for most of us. However, it only takes a few members of a species to completely ruin something for the rest. There will always be a few Griffons who will remain stuck in our violent past, and it's because of those few who completely screw things over for all other Griffons who are actually trying to be accepted into human culture.

So that was my problem. It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, that there was no possible way that I could even have a lasting chance at any Home Stay. I've even had coordinators turn me down before even having a chance to meet me. I guess that was how things were going to be for a long time.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: ANOTHER DAY**

My name is Ares Argestes. I am a male Griffon currently living in the outskirts of Japan, awaiting for a response to one of my many letters to receive a coordinator.

I was currently just sitting on my enlarged bed, staring up into the lightless ceiling. Every second that went by felt like minutes, every minute hours, and every hours days as I daily awaited for some sort of response. I've been tempted to give up before, but something just continued to push me. To be completely honest, I wasn't even sure what kept me going. I lived completely alone, as it is within culture that the parents must leave there children to fend for themselves once they reach the age of fifteen...I was 20. It's been five years...five long, horrible years of loneliness. However the loneliness seemed to get worse once the Interspecies Exchange Bill passed, as it meant that I now had a chance of no longer being by myself, but due to my species, my odds seemed to get even more slim. It was a truly depressing feeling.

I took a deep breath and let out a depressing sigh as a sat up in my bed, slowly beginning to walk towards my dresser to get myself ready for yet another lonely day here in my small house. I slowly approached the dresser, eventually looking up to see myself in the enlarged mirror that was built to fit to my massive height of 7'3.

I was a mess.

My dark grey hair was completely in shambles, and the feathers attached to my matching colored wings looked like they haven't been properly groomed in days. Even the patch of fur on the end of my tail was a complete disaster. I eventually found myself looking into my own light blue eyes, thinking to myself that there must be hope for me somewhere on this planet.

"Somewhere." I quietly said to myself, noticing that my voice was still fairly groggy from just waking up not to long ago.

I began to slowly get myself ready. I knew that I more than likely wasn't going to be seeing anyone today, but it was still shameful to walk around looking like this. I turned and walked to the bathroom, the proceeded with your everyday hygiene activities: Taking a shower, brushing my teeth, deodorant, and all the others were fairly simple other then the fact that showering took me a bit longer to accomplish due to my wings. Once I got out of the shower I headed pack to my dresser, picked up my wire brush from the top of the dresser and then began combing out my disastrous hair, eventually moving onto my wings, and then my tail. Once the three were to the point of being presentable I began to get dressed. Starting with my leather arm and hand guards so I wouldn't tear holes in any of my clothes. I slid on a pair of jeans, which were slightly modified in the back to make it comfortable for my tail. I then slid on a shirt and a zip up hoodie, which were also modified in the back with holes just large enough for me to slide my wings through. These modifications were something all Griffons needed to do to our clothes, that is if we can even find any in our size.

I was now ready for yet another disappointing day. I knew my odds were slim, but that didn't stop me from daily going outside and checking my mailbox for any sort of response to my letters. I slowly approached my front door, eventually walking outside. I slightly covered my eyes as the massive burst of sunshine slammed into my eyes. It was just enough to knock my vision out of focus, but it wasn't long until I was bale to see again.

It was a very nice day out, but that didn't seem to help my depressed feelings. I walked over to my mailbox with my leather covered claws in my hoodie pockets. I slid open the box's lid, to no surprise being greeted by yet another empty filling. I let out a sigh and began walking back towards the entrance to my house, lowering my head back to the ground in the process. I began to re-open my front door, but was stopped by the sudden distant noise of an engine. I slowly turned and looked down the long, gravel road that was connected to my house. So far I could see nothing over the horizon, but my ears were still picking up the distinct noise of a car engine coming from that area. It slowly began to get louder, but I still couldn't manage to see anything coming down the road.

Even though I couldn't see the vehicle, I knew that there was one approaching. This actually confused me, as I have seen cars come down this road a handful of times sense the six years that I've lived here. I slowly re-shut the front door and began focusing on the road, waiting to see what kind of vehicle was about to come over the horizon. Luckily, my curiosity was eventually solved as I watched a white van-looking vehicle pop up into view. I don't recall ever seeing a vehicle like that ever coming this way, so this struck my interest.

I had a feeling it wasn't even for me though, as I've only had one visitor, other than my parents, sense I've lived here, and It didn't take long for them to leave. I leaned up against the house and watched as the vehicle approached. It seemed that even though I had a deep feeling that whoever this was wasn't here to see me, I was still getting slightly more nervous the closer the white car grew.

I eventually began second guessing myself. Thoughts like: "They couldn't possibly be here for you" and "This is the day" were colliding in my mind, building up butterflies that eventually began making me feel sick to my stomach.

The vehicle was very close now, and I could finally clearly see the driver through the windshield. It was a male who was wearing a white looking suit and a blue striped tie underneath. He appeared to be bald, but it suited him. I watched as his gaze slowly switched over to me, which surprisingly caught me off guard. I've had people stare at me, but this stare felt different. I averted my eyes back to the vehicle, noticing that it was beginning to slow down.

I was getting excited now. There was no way that this guy was here to see me...yet, it seemed that that was exactly what was about to happen. The vehicle eventually came to the front of my house, its brakes slightly squealing as it came to a stop. I caught yet another glance from the man as he began to exit the vehicle. I observed him, watching his every move and paying attention to all of his details, the most obvious one being an odd height of around 5'7 at the most.

What was going on? This can't be what I think it is. My luck ran dry a long time ago. There is absolutely ZERO way that this man is here for me.

"I take it that you are Ares Argestes?" The man said as he slowly began walking towards me, eventually stopping around fifteen feet away from me. His voice was fairly deep, yet kind.

How does he know my name? All I could mage to do at this moment was release a nervous nod, as my brain wasn't letting me make words at the moment.

"Your a bit bigger than I thought you'd be." He smiled.

What does that have to do anything? Who is this man? Why is he here?

"Well Arges? Do you not speak?" He questioned, his voice hitting a slightly higher octave.

"Umm...yes. W-who are you?" I managed to stutter out.

"Well, my name is Johnson. John works though." He politely said as he placed his hands behind his back.

"W-Why are you h-here." I nervously spoke.

He didn't give a verbal response, but instead pulled out a large, yellow envelope from his suit. He then extended his arm to hand it to me, to which I oddly responded by simply standing there and staring at the envelope.

"Don't worry Ares. I won't bite." He laughed, further extending the envelope.

I crept towards him with nervous filled caution until I was able to reach for the envelope. Once it was within my hands I began to slowly open up the yellow flap on the top, eventually looking down inside to be greeted by a large amount of used notebook paper.

"What is all this?" I asked, looking up at Johnson.

"Just pull a few of them out, you might recognize them." He said, gesturing towards the envelope.

I, once again, slowly began looking into the envelope and pulled out a stack of papers. A swallowed my nervousness as a realized what they were...all of my letters. I quickly snapped my neck up to look Johnson in the eyes.

"Why do you have these?" I asked, having a deep feeling that I knew the answer.

"I think you know Ares." He playfully grinned as he took a few more steps towards me.

"Y-You're..." I couldn't get the words out, but a didn't have to.

"You're coordinator. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said as he stuck out his hand to shake mine.

I dropped the envelope and papers onto the ground and quickly grabbed for Johnson's hand, not shaking it but instead pulling him in for a much wanted hug, to which he didn't deny as He returned it almost instantly. I could feel all of my locked up emotions beginning to escape in the form of joyous tears.

A coordinator.

I finally have a coordinator.

"Let it all out." He chuckled as he patted my back.

I eventually let go and looked him in the eyes once again, my gut telling me that he had more news for me.

"You have a home for me, don't you?" I unwantingly blurted out.

There was a small pause, however Johnson began to slightly smile.

"Actually, yes. I know how long you've been wanting to be a part of a homestay Ares, so I held off coming here to meet you until I could find someone willing to accept you in there home." He said, to which he gave a small grin.

This may have sounded unpleasant as he chose to wait to even tell me I had a coordinator until he had a home for me, but I don't think that I cared how he did his job at this point. I was finally happy.

"Yep, she lives right here in Japan. She said this morning that she chose you to stay at her house, so as soon as I got the news I began to drive straight here. She also said that she wouldn't mind if you got here sooner rather than later, so if it's okay with you, you can go ahead and pack your bags. We should make it there by tomorrow afternoon." Johnson continued, to which a happily responded.

"Are...Are you joking?" I doubtingly questioned as my nerves seemed to still have the best of me.

"Not at all Ares. We can leave right now if you want." He responded.

I didn't even need to think at this point, just respond.

"Don't leave. I'll be right back with my things!" I shouted as I turned and ran back into my house, not even bothering to shut the door behind me.

I then began to gather up my things with as much speed as I possibly could. I bet to some it would appear that I was reacting like a child on his birthday, but I didn't care.

I had a coordinator...and a new home to go to.

* * *

AUTHORS NOTES:

Hello all readers, I would like to thank you for giving this story a try. I have began reading and watching Monster Musume, and I immediately knew that I wanted to wright my own series of it. I will attempt to update this story regularly if it goes well. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: A NEW LIFE**

* * *

Ares's Point of View.

The inside of Johnson's white van was far smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside, but I wasn't going to let something like that bring me down at this moment in time. I was far to happy right now to even be able to process a sad emotion, let alone feel one. I couldn't even sit still at the time, as I was far to excited...that and my wings and tail were currently squished up against the seat in probably one of the most uncomfortable ways possible.

I began resituating myself in my seat for probably the twentieth time in the past ten minutes, noticing that I had caught the attention of Johnson in my struggle.

"Sorry that the vehicle isn't bigger Ares, it was the biggest one the dealership had." He spoke, not taking his eyes away from the gravel road leaving my old house.

"Umm...explain dealership to me...if you don't mind that is." I embarrassingly said, as my knowledge on human culture and society was very slim. However this could be said for all non-humans, so I could probably bet money that Johnson received this question a lot in his career as a coordinator.

"Ah, sorry about that. Sure, a dealership is a place where humans can go to rent vehicles to use for however long they pay for. My personal vehicle is pretty small, so I tried to rent something bigger to pick you up in...This was the biggest vehicle they had though, so sorry about that." He responded without skipping a beat, proving my point that he must get questions like that a lot.

"Thanks." I responded.

There was then a long, awkward silence between us. I had many questions bouncing around in my head, but a had no clue which one to ask first. However I managed to unknowingly mutter a fairly basic question.

"So...What all do I need to know about human culture?" I asked, my voice growing softer as the sentence continued.

"Well...that's kind of an odd question. Could you maybe be more specific about what you want to know?" He politely responded.

"Umm..." I pondered. "I don't know. What kind of stuff should I not do?" I quickly asked, as it was the first thing my brain was able to come up with.

However Johnson responded almost instantly, in fact it was quick enough to officially settle my curiosity of exactly how often he got questions like this.

"Well, that's actually a pretty simple question. In fact, it's probably pretty simple to the rules in your culture. I'm assuming that you have read up on the Interspecies Exchange Bill at least once or twice?" He said, answering my question with another.

"I've read it maybe twice. I know enough to get the gist of it." I responded.

"Would you mind telling me what you know about it? I might be able to help you if I know everything you know, if that makes any sense." He politely asked.

"Well, I know that humans and non-humans can't harm each other, and that I'm not allowed to leave their house unless the human is with me. I know one other thing...but I'd rather not say." I said, my cheeks more than likely turning a light shade of red as I said the last part unwantingly escaped form my mouth.

However, Johnson seemed unfazed. In fact, it seemed that he was completely expecting that answer.

"Yea, that's about the gist of it. There really isn't much else you need to know as long as you remember those three rules." He unexpectedly responded.

"Really? I don't need to know anything else?" I asked, to which he responded with nothing more of a nod as he sharply turned the wheel of the vehicle, putting us on a paved road. "Umm...where are we headed then?" I continued, switching the subject.

"Well, the place you'll be staying is about thirty minutes from here. The pictures I saw made it look like it was on the outskirts of the city. I think it had a good bit of land to." Johnson continued with more information on the house, however my thoughts of excitement and happiness seemed to drown him out.

I was now wondering a lot of new questions, all of them seeming to be about the human I'd be staying with. Was it a boy or girl? What was their name? What were they like? Was there other non-humans already there? However out of all these questions, one of them seemed to suddenly take control: Would they like me?

I slightly shook my head as if to snap myself out of these thoughts, ending up catching myself being drug back into Johnson's words. He was still going on about the house, but I felt the need to interrupt him.

"Hey Johnson." I spoke up, to which he responded by pausing mid-sentence.

"Uh, what's up?" He asked. "Have another question?"

"A few actually, but I'm not sure which one to ask first." I said, nervously reacting by placing my hand on the back of my head.

"Just ask all of them and I'll answer what I can." He said.

"Well, alright then. So, tell me what the human I'm staying with is like." I asked, noticing that I was practically on the edge of my seat awaiting a response.

"Ah! Yes! I can't believe I almost forgot that!" Johnson yelled out, lightly smacking the side of his head in an angered gesture. "Well, it's a male named Mason Finch. He seemed pretty kind in his request to become available for a homestay. He also already has another non-human living there, se he has experience." Johnson said, the bit about another non-human catching me by surprise.

"Wait, he has another non-human staying there?" I quickly interrupted.

"Uh..yes, I hope that's not a problem." Johnson responded.

"Oh! No no no!" I quickly said. "That's perfectly fine with me, it actually kind of relieves me a bit." I said.

"Is that so?" Johnson asked. "You nervous?" He said, however I could hear a sense of joking sarcasm behind his words.

"Is it that obvious?" I muttered, to which we both slightly giggled to. "So, what kind of non-human is already there then?" I asked.

"I'm actually not completely sure. Mason didn't exactly say, and I've only been able to talk to him over the phone." Johnson said.

"Wait, so you've never met this guy?" I questioned, as this did seem like a bit of a red flag.

"I'm afraid not. But you can trust me Ares, I would never pair someone up with anybody who seemed off. Even in the slightest bit." He responded, his words seeming to calm be back down to my original state.

"Well...I guess that's true." I said as I let my head drift back to looking out the vehicle's window, being caught off guard by the sudden change in scenery.

We were no longer out in the woods, but instead the exact opposite. There were large buildings and other pieces of human technology that I have yet to see with my own eyes. I may have been smarter than some non-humans coming into human society, but I was far from intelligent on the subject. There were other vehicles passing by us seemingly every seconds on the large two lain roads, something that was foreign to me...as was just about everything. I moved my head to face the front windshield of the vehicle, watching as we approached an area where tow roads crossed, a series of red, yellow, and green lights hanging above the roads. This was probably something highly common in human society, however I could let myself not be amazed by this.

"What exactly are those?" I excitedly asked as I gestured to the series of color-changing lights, this time not allowing myself to become embarrassed by questions that probably would have seemed ridiculous to most humans.

"Those are stoplights, they help direct traffic on busy streets like this one. Green means go, red means stop, and yellow means caution, or slow." Johnson happily responded.

I continued rapidly looking around at the city, simply amazed at my new surroundings. This was all new to me, as I have never left the forest that my home was located in. It actually surprised me that the scenery could change so much in just a matter of thirty minutes or so. I was dumbfounded at this point, simply watching and observing every little thing we passed. The outside of human houses were very intricate and far more complex than an average Griffon house, which just made me excited to see what the inside of a human house looked like.

"How much longer until we get there?" I loudly questioned, probably sounding like that of a small child once again.

"Shouldn't be much longer. Five minutes maybe. I'll call Mason and tell him that were almost there." Johnson said.

I was about to question on how exactly Johnson planned on calling Mason in such short time, but instead once again caught myself dumbstruck as he pulled out a small piece of plastic from his suit pocket, opened it up, typed in a series of numbers, and then put it up to his ear. Now I was confused. What was this device. I began listening to it, as I could here a buzzing coming from the piece of plastic. However, the buzzing was quickly interrupted by a male voice. Going from Johnson's previous sentence it must have been Mason

"Hello? Is this Johnson?" Mason said, his voice slightly distorted through the piece of plastic.

How did this device even work? What was it? More thought's like this continued through my mind as I listened into Johnson's conversation.

"Indeed it is!" Johnson responded. "I should be there with your new guest any minute now." He continued.

"That's good to hear!" Mason responded. "I'll see you guys soon!"

"Alright then Mason, see you soon." And just like that Johnson removed the device from his ear and slid it back in his pocket. He must of noticed my curious gaze as he immediately began telling me about the device.

"It's called a cell phone. They allow people to call each other with only a few button clicks away." He said.

"Then why did you have to enter in all the numbers?" I asked.

"That was Mason's phone number. Everyone who has a cell phone has a unique phone number that must be entered in before you call them." Johnson replied, to which In responded with a fascinated hum.

"So, the house has to be close, right?" I asked, beginning to feel the butterflies in my stomach rise up.

"Actually." He said, turning onto another street, this one littered with houses that had decent spacing in between each other. "Mason's house is somewhere on this street."

The butterflies were officially awake now. My stomach was in knots. I was extremely excited to start my new life. I watched as we kept passing houses, pondering which one was Mason's. I looked out the windshield and spotted a single large house sitting at the end of the street, seemingly surrounded by larger trees and brushes. I noticed a sudden gut feeling rise up...that was the house.

As soon as this thought arose I noticed Johnson point at the house. "There it is Ares, your new home." He smiled.

The vehicle then began to slow down, eventually coming to a complete stop. I quickly began exiting the vehicle and gathering my things, almost losing my balance and eating dirt in the process. This didn't phase me though. I quickly stretched out my wings as a impatiently waited for Johnson to exit the vehicle. It felt like an eternity until Johnson was by my side, giving me permission to walk up to the house.

I was only about half way up the walkway to the entrance when the door flew open, a man stepping into frame with a polite wave and a smile on his face.

"Are you Mason Finch?" I heard Johnson yell from behind me.

"Indeed I am! Welcome to my home Ares!" Mason responded.

The butterflies came to a sudden halt as I approached Mason. I quickly realized that I towered over him in height, something that I thought would intimidate most humans. However Mason seemed to happily welcome me in with a sudden gesture. However I couldn't bring myself to walk in the house. I looked over my shoulder at Johnson, who was now back by his vehicle. He caught my stare once more, responding with a satisfying nod that must have meant his job was done. I looked back at Mason, who was now inside the large house. I took a deep breath and walked through the doorway.

Looks like my new life starts now.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Thanks for reading this chapter of _Monster Musume: A Griffon Tale._ I would like to announce that I will try to update this story at least once a week if possible. Please leave comments! Good and bad criticism is happily allowed as long as it is constructive criticism! Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: A NEW HOME**

* * *

Ares's Point of View

The inside of Mason's house was far bigger than it appeared on the outside. It was also appeared to be very well organized and clean. However, one major thing managed to stick out more than everything else: The ceilings. every single room in the house had raised ceilings, all usually having a large metal rod that would go from one end of the room to the other resting near the top of the ceiling. I knew that this must have had something to do with the other Non-human that lived here, but I was still confused on exactly what kind of Non-human lived here. I turned to face Mason.

"Hey, umm, Mason." I asked.

"What's up Ares?" He responded.

"Well...what kind of Non-human lives here? I was told that there was another." I said.

"Ah, yes! Can't believe that I forgot about her." He said.

"Her?" I quickly questioned, seemingly cutting off Mason.

"Yep. Her name is Phantasma Polaris." He said. "She's a bat."

My mind instantly jumped to a sense of confusion. I've never even heard of a Non-human of the bat species. What did they look like? Was she friendly?

"You look confused." Mason said, obviously catching that my lack of response was off.

"Umm...I've just never even heard of a bat Non-human species before. I'm not exactly sure what to expect." I explained, shrugging my shoulders.

"Well, your not the only one to say that. Her species is pretty rare, almost like your own in a way. The only way I can really explain her is that she has about the same build as a Harpy, except her wings are like that of...well...a bat." Mason said. "I honestly really can't give that good of a description of her." He continued.

"Why isn't she down here?" I asked.

"Well...she's nocturnal. So she's probably asleep right now." He responded.

"That makes sense." I said. "I guess I'll probably see her later tonight then?"

"More than likely. I'm sure that you two will get along just fine though, so no worries there." He explained. "Anyway, I'm assuming that you'll want to see the rest of the house?" He asked.

"Yes, that would be nice." I excitedly responded.

I truly was excited to see the house, and I could tell that this excitement wasn't going to go to waste.

Mason led me through his massive house, starting with the first floor. He started with the living room, which he explained to me was basically a place where anyone could go to relax and watch something called television...another thing that apparently most humans had that amazed me. He then went on to the Kitchen and Dining Room, two rooms that I actually knew what were for. This being said, they were far neater and fancier than any kitchen or dining room I have ever set foot in. He then led me to the backyard that was connected to the kitchen with a backdoor. The backyard was a massive fenced off area that had two very large trees resting in the middle, something that made me feel more at home. He then began to lead me upstairs, which was apparently where all of the bedrooms were. However, Mason was distracted by a ringing noise coming from his pocket.

I watched as he pulled out a bright blue cell phone, to which he reacted to with a surprised looking face.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, stopping behind him on the stairs.

"Umm...I actually need to take this." He said, his voice going from a happy and cheery tone to a more serious one. "Tell you what though, your rooms the door on the right. Go ahead and make yourself feel at home." And with that he began walking back down the stairs, passing me and walking somewhere in the kitchen without giving me the time to respond.

This would usually make me feel odd, but I was still to excited to get my own room. So naturally, I continued up the stairs until I reached the top. I was greeted by a hallway that had three doors in it. However, there was two on the right, so I was not sure which one to enter. I knew that Phantasma was currently sleeping, and I really didn't want my first impression on her being me barging into her room while she was sleeping. I slowly walked over to the two doors, debating which one I should choose to open. My heart began to nervously pound as I gazed at the doors.

Left or right?

My hand kept jumping back and forth between the two doorknobs. I wanted to yell for Mason, but not only was he talking about something important, but I also didn't want to risk waking up Phantasma by yelling either. I guess I had to make a decision.

I slowly began to reach for the door on the right, grasping the door knob and beginning to slowly open it. I must have had the right door though, as the lights were on in a dimmed state, something that I imagined that a non-human of bat origins wouldn't be to fond of. My heart and nerves calming themselves as I quickly opened the door the rest of the way. I then began to look around the room with pride, noticing one major thing that only brought one thought to mind.

Wrong room.

Standing at the end of the dimly lit room was a small female that perfectly matched the description that Mason gave to me. However, I was seeing far more than I wanted to. Apparently, Phantasma had just recently woken up...and was currently in the middle of getting dressed, leaving herself indecent.

She quickly turned to face me, a look of horror and embarrassment instantly appearing on both of our faces. We both began to blush, neither one of us able to look away from either shock or the sheer element of surprise that was currently overflowing our brains. I truly wanted to look away, however my brain wasn't able to process what was going on. However, she managed to make the move that caused my brain to make a decision.

Phantasma instantly dropped everything she was holding, swiftly covering herself up with the large wings attached to her arms. She then let out an ear-piercing feminine scream that basically forced me to swiftly back out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

"Damn it." I said to myself as I slid to the ground with my back up against the wall.

I took a deep breath and then looked up, only to be greeted by a surprised looking Mason who was just at the top of the stairs.

"Oh no." He said, giving away the fact that he knew what just happened

"I think you gave me the wrong door!" I yelled, rising back up to my feet.

"I know!" He yelled in response. "That's why I was coming back upstairs! I was going to tell you that I meant to say the door on the left!" He explained.

My mind then went blank, however I did realize that this was technically Mason's fault.

"So...can you tell her that it was your fault then?" I asked, looking Mason in the eyes.

"If you think it will help, I will whenever she comes out." He responded.

I then let out a small sigh of relief. "Thanks." I said. "I'm...I'm just gonna go organize my room."

"Understandable. I'll come talk to you in a bit. I'm gonna go get dinner ready." He said, leaving me to myself as he walked back down the stairs.

I then turned to face the door on the left, opening it to reveal a room that seemed to be completely different from the one I just witnessed. The room was much larger and more open. I single large window rested on the back wall, staring out directly at the large trees in the backyard. I also noticed that there was also a small television in my room, something that slightly excited me. However, there was one major thing that caught my eye: The bed.

The bed that was in my room was a type of bed that I have always wanted; A hammock that was connected by the two far corners in the right side of the room. Hammock's were something that were always very common in Griffon culture, however they all usually had to be custom made. This one seemed to be very well made though, and was easily big enough for me. Mason must have ordered this when he decided to let me stay here. I guess I had another thing to thank him for.

I sat all of my things down next to the dresser that the television was sitting on, then walked over to the hammock. I cautiously sat down on the large mass of hung netting, slowly falling back into it until I was eventually completely sprawled within the netting. It was extremely comfortable, far better than the bed at my old home. In fact, I found myself slowly closing my eyes. I eventually fell asleep.

* * *

2 Hours Later

It wasn't long until I heard a knock at my door, causing my eyes to shoot open. I slowly sat back up in the hammock. I was unsure about how much time had passed, but I assumed that it was just Mason at the door telling me that dinner was ready.

"Come in!" I yelled, sitting up in the hammock.

I then watched as the door open, but was surprised when it was instead Phantasma who walked in...Her face looking embarrassed and shy.

I could finally see what she actually looked like. She was literally built like a harpy, all the way down to her size. However her wings and feet were that of a bats, and were a very dark gray color. She was wearing a pair of ripped up jeans and a dark grey hoodie. Her hair was also very dark, and appeared to be very messy. Upon seeing her hair I noticed that she didn't have normal ears, but instead bat ears that were fairly comparable to that of a centaurs when it came to there positioning. I also noticed that she had blood red eyes.

"Umm...Hello...sorry." I said, this being the only thing my brain could currently get out. I then prepared for something along the lines of a scolding from the bat.

However, her response was almost the opposite.

"It is okay." She said, her voice appearing very timid, shy, and quiet. "Mason told me what happened. I understand.

I could only say one thing. "Thank you, but I'm still sorry."

"Well...I'm glad that your at least kind." She said. "I'm Phantasma Polaris, nice to meet you."

I felt my heart warm up out of relief. "I'm Ares. Ares Argestes. Nice to meet you to."

"Well. Now that that is out of the way. Dinner is ready, come down whenever." She said.

And just like that, she left. I took a bit to process everything, sitting silently in my hammock. At least everything was off to a good start.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning was quiet to say in the least. In fact, it was rather unsettling. I would have figured my first morning after being here would be rather eventful, or at the least talkative. But instead, it was quiet. Of course, Phantasma was just now going to sleep for the day ... something that was rather odd to say out loud. Not like I could judge her though, I mean why would I? And Mason seemed to be very busy with his phone this morning as, from what I witnessed, he was tapping away frantically at the screen as digital-like sounds came out with every few taps, followed by Mason either smiling or almost cursing at the small device. With all this said, I'm sure whatever he was doing on such an amazing device was rather important.

So yeah, that was pretty much my morning. Just me laying here in my hammock with nothing more than silence to great me. Admittedly, it was a rather nice silence as I at least knew that I wasn't alone anymore. There was at least others here that were witnessing the silence with me, so I couldn't really complain about being alone anymore.

Still ... I think I've had enough silence in my life these past few years. I wanted to finally be able to get out there and witness new things, meet new people, learn their ways! Hell, even if I could just get out of here and learn the area, I'd be perfectly okay with that.

"You know what," I said to myself as I sat up from my hammock. "That's what I'm going to do!"

I triumphantly stood up as I began to learn the layout of my new surroundings. It sounded rather silly in my head, but it truly was a difficult task. I wasn't exactly used to the new locations of all of my items. Hell, it took me fifteen minutes just to remember where I stored my grooming brush.

But, after a long hour, I eventually had myself presentable. I had a new outfit on, and I was feeling pretty good about myself! With pride and a deep breath, I went to reach for the doorknob ... but found myself pausing as I realized that I had yet to put on my leather gloves and gauntlets.

Suddenly, I found my pride being replaced with embarrassment as I looked around at my brand new furnishings and room ... However, you now wouldn't have known they were brand new.

It seemed that somewhere within my montage of pride filled preparation, I had managed to scar and scratch nearly every single piece of wood furniture within my room with my talons.

"Fuck." I said under my breath.

I now felt extremely stupid. I was not used to having to put those damned hand traps on every morning! All of my brand new furniture was now scratched to shit. The dresser, the mirror, even some of the walls! I was truly baffled at the fact that I didn't even realize I had done all of this until it was to late.

"Shit ... Mason's gonna be _pissed_!" I huffed.

"No, he's not." A voice spoke up from behind me, honestly scaring me a bit to the point where I unwillingly jumped a little bit.

I turned around to see Mason standing in the doorway, his arms crossed as he lightly leaned against the doorframe.

"Shit! Mason, I'm so so-

"Don't apologize!" He smiled.

"Umm ... Why? I practically ruined all of this brand new furniture your had put in for me!" I sighed.

"Ares, do you honestly think I'm angry about this? I know what I signed up for when I accepted your papers." He grinned.

"Yeah, cause that makes me feel better about it." I rolled my eyes.

"Dude, I really don't think you're hearing me right. Besides, even if I was angry for whatever reason, I bet you feel slightly more at home now, right?"

That was where he caught me off guard. As I looked around, that weird feeling of new surroundings almost seemed nonexistent. My surroundings actually looked familiar now. It sort of felt like home. While yes, I did want to get away from home, it is always nice to not feel homesick.

"So ... you're not angry?" I said as I turned to face Mason.

"Why would I be?" He laughed. "I didn't even have to pay for this shit!"

"What? Are you serious?" I said in disbelief.

"Yeah! There's a rule in the Interspecies Exchange Program that states that when a host permanently excepts a non-human into their home, the government must provide money for all living expenses. That includes food, clothes, proper transportation, appropriately sized living accommodations, and yes, proper furniture." He said.

"You're completely serious?" I said in disbelief, as this was something I was completely unaware of.

"Trust me, money isn't something I kid around about." He jokingly, yet somehow seriously stated.

"Hmm ... " I pondered.

"What's up?" Mason questioned.

"Well, you mentioned transportation, but I didn't notice a vehicle outside of your house. What kind of vehicle did they give you to help me?" I asked as I remembered being cramped inside of Johnson's small van.

"Oddly enough, that's actually why I came up here in the first place!" Mason smiled. "The Program administrators just sent me a message saying my new vehicle was on the trailer and on its way here. I figured you would want to come down and see the big reveal with me."

Well ... I guess this was my first chance to get out of the house.

"Hell yeah!" I smirked.

We both then began to head down the stairs, but Mason stopped mid walk and turned to face me.

"Umm ... usually I would say you wouldn't have to wear them in the house, but you may want to put on your gauntlets for this. While yes, the Program does cover vehicle repairs ... It would be rather awkward driving around in a brand new vehicle with scratches all over it. Plus, I don't want it to get to the point where we have to send the vehicle back for repairs, leaving us without a vehicle." He said, sounding kind of embarrassed to ask.

"Well, yeah. That's understandable I guess." I curiously sighed as I quickly rushed back to my room and slapped on the gauntlets and gloves as quickly as possible.

I then went downstairs to rejoin Mason, who was now standing at the door, peering through the small peephole, somehow with more excitement on his face than me.

"You look more excited than me." I chuckled.

"Look man, I haven't had a new vehicle since I turned 18." He stated.

"And how old are you now?" I asked.

"29 currently."

"And why didn't you get a new vehicle when you accepted Phantasma into your home?" I continued.

"Well, the car I had at the time was big enough for her and didn't cause her any issues, so they didn't have a need to give me a new one."

"Must have been a small car."

"Let me put it this way; If you thought Johnson's van was small, then you wouldn't even have been able to step foot into my old car."

I went to say more, but was cut off by Mason's excitement as he jumped up and frantically reached for the doorknob.

"It's here!" He yelled as the two of us bolted outsides with smiles on our face.

The second I stepped foot outside, a strong smell of what I think was gasoline filled the air. A thick grey smog almost blocked out the natural sunlight in the area. As I looked into the driveway, I saw a very large vehicle that was towing a similar sized vehicle behind it. However, that was all I could tell about the vehicle that was being hauled, as it was covered with a large tarp that prevented any details beyond the overall shape of the vehicle to be known. I watched as the larger vehicle pushed the tarp covered one into Mason's driveway, a massive amount of mechanical screeches and clanks filled the area until eventually the tarp covered vehicle was completely unhooked from the other, resting in Mason's now rather full driveway. The man driving the vehicle then hopped out and walked over to Mason.

He was an average looking man, around Mason's height and overall size. He wore a white jacket that had the Interspecies Exchange Program logo on the shoulder. I watched as he handed Mason a clip board with a set of papers on it, that of which Mason almost immediately began to sign with the provided pen. It wasn't too much longer until the man was shaking Mason's hand and climbing back into his large vehicle, then pulling out of the driveway, his vehicle's horn unleashing a very deep tone as he drove off into the city.

"So." I said. "Are we gonna see what it looks like?"

"You're damn right we are." Mason grinned as he trotted up to the vehicle and began unhooking the bungee cables that held the tarp on.

The vehicle was definitely of a larger stature, almost as if it grew once the bright, burnt orange paint job was in full view.

"Oh man, this things a beast!" I heard Mason shout.

"Umm ... meaning?" I questioned, as I knew nothing about the vehicle other than the fact that it was definitely large enough for me and that it had a rather eye catching color.

"I mean look at it! Dually rear wheels! Diesel Powered! Pre-installed turbo kit! This thing is practically as tank on wheels!" He shouted.

"Mason." I asked.

"Yes?"

"I have zero clue what any of that means." I sighed as I rubbed my hand through my hair, giving a slightly diminished, embarrassed smirk.

Mason opened his mouth to explain, but was cut off by Phantasma's voice from the upstairs window facing us.

"It means its a damn planet killer!" She shrieked.

"Hey! Only if we use it excessively!" Mason shouted back in a more playful tone.

"Which I imagine will be rather often considering I don't leave the house much!" She retorted.

I looked over at Mason. "You know, I haven't lived here that long, and I definitely don't know anything about vehicles, but I think she has a point. If it's anything like the vehicle that man there was driving, I have a feeling the smog this thing puts out isn't exactly healthy."

Mason gave the two of us a 'You gotta be kidding me' sort of frown.

"Look Ares, it's not like you can fit in much else. We have to take what we can get, you know?"

"Umm." I pondered.

"And trust me man, if you're not comfortable with it, then we won't drive it unless we really have to." He continued.

I looked up at Phantasma as if I was going to get some sort of confirmation from her, but simply got a half assed eye roll instead as she closed the window and went back inside.

"I mean ... yeah, that sounds good." I smiled.

Without skipping a single beat, Mason then ran up to the driver side of the vehicle. "Under one condition." He then held the keys into the air, as if to jingle them at me. "Since it's out first day with it, you have to come with me for _one_ single test drive through the town."

"Well, I suppose that's fair." I smiled as I reached for the door handle.

"Enjoy your planet killer!" The sudden voice of Phantasma exploded from the same window from just a moment ago, however this time it was cutoff with a solid slam as I'm assuming she went back inside for good.

Well, guess this is making out to be a better day than I thought it would be.


End file.
